While so much of the country has been made to endure scorching heat this summer, those of us in the Pacific Northwest have scarcely seen the sun.

Chopped [chopt]: -slang

Local slang, used to mean the intentional matching or coordination in color or pattern of articles of clothing and accessories.

I’m just like Lewis or Clark. I found this place.

No really, I did. OK, so I wasn’t the first to find it. I’d heard tales of “The West.“ The Beautiful West. Knowing I’d move from my home state of Louisiana, I wanted to go to this place that my newfound friends had come from, or told me about. My tribe would be there. Hiding in the mountains.